A. Catharine
Ross, Ph.D.
Professor of
Nutrition and Physiology
Dorothy Foehr
Huck Chair
Head,
Department of Nutritional Sciences
The
Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Catharine Ross received her
undergraduate education at the University of California at Davis (Zoology,
1970), and masters (MNS, nutrition, 1972) and Ph.D. (Biochemistry, Molecular
and Cell Biology, 1976) from Cornell University. Following a postdoctoral
fellowship in the Department of Medicine, Columbia University (1976-78) she
taught and conducted research at the Medical College of Pennsylvania until 1994
when she joined the Pennsylvania State University as Professor of Nutrition and
Physiology and occupant of the Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair. She currently serves
as head of the Department of Nutritional Sciences.
Her research has focused on vitamin A nutrition and lipid and
lipoprotein metabolism, and on the role of micronutrient nutrition in immune
function. She served for 10 years as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of
Nutrition and currently serves on the Editorial Board for Nutrients. She is a
Fellow of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, the American
Society for Nutritional Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of
Science. She has served on numerous NIH and USDA study sections, Academy panels.
Currently, she is serving on a congressionally-mandated NASEM committee,
“Evaluating the Process to Develop the Dietary Guidelines for Americans,
2020-2025.”
Abstract
Nutrition and infection have been
studied for over a century, yet even now there is much still to be learned.
What is becoming clear is that micronutrients, such as vitamin A, play multiple
roles both in protective mucosal immunity and barrier functions and in the
acute response to infection. Recent research has revealed novel mechanisms,
several involving mucosal immunity and host-microbiome interactions. This
lecture, focusing on examples from vitamin A research, will bring to the fore
several of the fascinating ways that micronutrients contribute to host defense
against infectious diseases.